Are you seeking practical strategies to promote cultural competence and support the academic success and well-being of Native American students? Culturally responsive teaching involves recognizing and honoring the diverse cultural backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives of students, including those of Native American heritage. Join Naomi Louise for this hands-on, interactive workshop as we explore strategies for integrating culturally responsive teaching practices and developing culturally relevant curriculum to better serve Native American students. Get ready to embark on a journey to effectively integrate indigenous perspectives and culture into your teaching practice and curriculum! Naomi’s expertise in diversity, equity and inclusion will provide you with resources you need to incorporate indigenous perspectives into lesson plans, brainstorm on how to adapt existing curriculum to be more culturally relevant, role-play scenarios to practice responding to culturally sensitive situations in the classroom and design a STEM curriculum unit integrating traditional ecological knowledge and practices. 

This is workshop five of six for the series titled “Honoring Our Roots: Exploring the Cultural Heritage and Contributions of Minnesota Tribal Nations.” 

Key Takeaways: 

1. Gain insights into the principles and practices of culturally responsive teaching, including building relationships, incorporating indigenous perspectives, and promoting student voice and agency. 
2. Learn strategies for developing culturally relevant curriculum that reflects the histories, cultures, and contributions of Native American peoples, while also meeting academic standards and learning objectives. 
3. Explore resources and tools for incorporating indigenous perspectives and culture into various subject areas, including language arts, social studies, science, and mathematics. 
4. Reflect on your own cultural biases and assumptions and consider how to approach teaching and curriculum development in a way that honors and respects the cultural identities and backgrounds of Native American students. 

Workshop Details: 

While we recommend that you attend all sessions of the workshop series to meet the learning objectives, each workshop can be attended as a standalone. Full members will also have access to view the recordings on demand and earn up to six continuing education credits. 

Special Technology Instructions: 

Attendees will need access to an internet-enabled device and a personal Google account (not affiliated with their school). SimpleK12’s Google Classroom will be utilized for the interactive and hands-on components of this workshop.  

Assessment:

Participants will develop a culturally responsive 5E lesson plan for teaching a STEM concept to Native American students and participate in a peer review to evaluate the cultural relevance of instructional materials to demonstrate their understanding of the workshop objectives and reflect on their learning.